Knocking on Heaven’s Door: Knocking to Keep from Falling
Ephesians 6:10-17
Connect:
Share how you have seen God in the Highs and Lows of your week.
Discuss how resolutions made last week in “growing more like Jesus” worked themselves out— what did God do in and through you (Phil 2:13)? Celebrate those together!
Prayer:
Pray that God would lead your discussion time and bring fresh insight, conviction, and hope through your time together.
Read:
Review: Remind the group of the focus of this series:
o This series takes us deeper into our walk with God through focusing on prayer— not only talking to God, but listening!
o This week’s message dealt with Biblical teaching on a spiritual struggle against a spirit being… called Satan!
o (NOTE: There is A LOT to cover this week, so feel free to use this discussion guide as a resource— you know your group best, so choose what you will discuss in depth and what you will summarize or skip. If you leave it up to the group, please don’t spend a long time choosing; use your time to focus on discussing Scripture.)
Read the passage together: Ephesians 6:10-17
Reflect:
Talk about the way our culture currently views demons, Satan, witchcraft, etc. How does this differ from the Bible’s teaching on the matter?
Discuss this phrase from Scott’s sermon this week: “…a victorious spiritual life is not something we achieve by trying hard; our success rests in God’s power and our choice to live in dependence on Him.”
[NOTE: All the teaching on spiritual warfare in Paul’s letters revolves around our being “in Christ”. If your group has a good idea of what this means, move on to the next discussion item. If not, read the following passages and discuss to build an understanding of what ‘in Christ’ means:
o John 3:16-18: Born again of the Spirit of God
o 1 Corinthians 5:13-19: New creations in Christ
o Romans 6:1-14: Living a life fully surrendered to God’s purposes and truth, dying to our own will and living to God’s will as Jesus did.
o Ephesians 2:1-9: Made alive in Christ and seated with Him as co-heirs!
o Romans 7:5,6 and Romans 8:1-13: Living according to the Spirit, with our minds set on the things of the Spirit!]
Eph 6:11-12 says that there is a real Devil with real schemes that are active in this “dark world” and “the heavenly realms”. Discuss the following questions:
o Paul said, “our struggle is not against flesh and blood” after being slandered, tortured, beaten, imprisoned and accused… all by people around him! Is Paul essentially saying here, “It’s not their fault; the devil made them do it”? Explain what “struggle” Paul is talking about here.
o Eph 6:11 says to “Be strong in the Lord and HIs mighty power”. How does Eph 6:12 make it clear that we need God’s power, not our own?
Read Eph 6:13. Discuss this passage.
o Scott made the comment, “Partial armor lessens your protection”. How do the parts of our armor work together to enable a soldier?
o Paul talks here about “…and after everything, to stand.” What’s the point of saying that?
Discuss “the belt of truth” in Eph 6:14
o The belt held everything together, carrying a lot of equipment; as the soldier moved to attack or defend. Talk about parallels in our spiritual lives; how does God’s truth help us to “keep everything together” when the Devil’s scheme is to have us believe his lies (John 8:44)?
o Talk about some of the Devil’s lies that you have believed in the past/present— how has that affected your ability to “stand” as Paul describes here in Ephesians?
Discuss the “breastplate of righteousness” in Eph 6:14
o Paul is essentially saying here that right living (i.e., living in dependence on God’s power (Philippians 2:13) and acknowledgement of His presence and purposes (Romans 8:5-11)) acts to guard our most vital organs! Is he saying that if we ever make a mistake, we’re done for? Explain.
o Read Eph 4:1. What’s the difference between this way of living right before God and “self-righteousness” ( Matt 6:1-8, Phil 3:8-13)
Discuss the “shield of faith” in Eph 6:16
o The picture here is that our faith stands between us and a mortal attack of the Devil. How does faith act to shield us from [doubt, discouragement, condemnation, fear…]?
Discuss the “helmet of salvation” in Eph 6:17 and 1 Thessalonians 5:8
o How does the “hope of salvation” guard our minds?
Discuss the “sword of the Spirit” in Eph 6:17, Hebrews 4:12
o A sword is a weapon of both attack and defense; talk about how that applies in your own life with regards to God’s Word.
o Scott made a point here that specific, memorized scripture (‘Rhema’) was the intended meaning here in Eph 6:17, much as Jesus used Scripture to deal with the Devil’s attack on Him in the wilderness (Luke 4:1-13). If we do not have specific Scriptures “stored up in our hearts”, what is likely to happen when it comes to “standing firm” as Paul talks about it in Ephesians here?
Respond:
o All of that moves on the ‘shoes’ of the “readiness that comes from the Gospel of peace”— being ready to share the good news about Jesus!
Spend some time praying that God would not only make us ready to share that good news, but give us the boldness to do so!
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